The emerging Saudi frontier is set to open a big can of worms as we approach the 2023 summer transfer window.
Cristiano Ronaldo set the precedent when he opted to join Al-Nassr following his departure from Manchester United at the end of 2022, with a bunch of veteran superstars poised to join CR7 in the Middle East.
Ronaldo's former teammate, Karim Benzema, looks like the next major coup for the Saudis after Real Madrid confirmed his exit. The current Ballon d'Or holder struggled to match the highs of 2021/22 this term, but the Frenchman remains an elite forward who had the capacity to compete at the highest level for years to come.
His departure leaves a gaping void in the Real dressing room and Los Blancos boss Carlo Ancelotti doesn't fancy downgrading, with England captain Harry Kane touted as Benzema's replacement in the Spanish capital.
Tottenham's dire 2022/23 campaign has thrust Kane's future into serious doubt once more, and while the striker may have his heart set on breaking the all-time Premier League scoring record, the allure of Real may prove too powerful to turn down.
Here's how Kane's record compares to Benzema's across various competitions.
Harry Kane's league record compared to Karim Benzema
Benzema has got five-and-a-half years on Kane in age, so it's no surprise he's made 178 more league appearances than his English counterpart.
The Frenchman dazzled at Lyon, scoring 43 times in 112 appearances, before joining Real Madrid off the back of a 17-league goal season in 2009. Benzema has since scored over 20 goals in six seasons, with four of these arriving in the striker's past five campaigns. He missed out on 20 La Liga goals by one in 2022/23.
While Kane has gradually evolved into more of a creator (while remaining impressively prolific) as time's progressed, Benzema, following the departures of Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, has rediscovered his consistent scoring touch. However, he's also developed a wonderful relationship with Vinicius Junior which meant his assist numbers continued to linger around the double-digit mark every season before 2022/23.
Following a slow start to his senior career, Kane has become nothing short of a goalscoring machine since his breakthrough 2014/15 season under Mauricio Pochettino. Tottenham's all-time record scorer is well on his way to breaking Alan Shearer's Premier League scoring record, and despite his side's recent woes, he's just enjoyed the joint most prolific league campaign of his league career.
As a result, his goals per game record is slightly superior to Benzema (0.6 to 0.5), but the Frenchman's 0.26 assist per game dwarfs Kane's 0.14.
Harry Kane's Champions League record compared to Karim Benzema
While Tottenham eventually developed into Champions League regulars under Pochettino, Kane has appeared in just 32 games in the competition. Benzema, meanwhile, has 152 Champions League appearances.
The Frenchman's scored an impressive 90 times and added 30 assists, but Kane has scored at a more frequent rate (0.66 goals per game compared to Benzema's 0.59). However, the vast majority of Kane's goals in the competition have arrived in the group stages. In fact, the England captain has notched just one knockout stage goal.
On the contrary, Benzema, especially during Real's miraculous journey to glory in 2021/22, has proven his capacity to shine brightly when it matters most. The Frenchman has scored the third-most Champions League knockout stage goals in the competition's history (34 in 67 games).
Harry Kane's cup record compared to Karim Benzema
Neither player, Benzema in particular, has featured heavily in domestic cup competitions over the years, but both have impressive records nonetheless.
Both score at a rate of around a goal every two games, but Benzema's record is slightly superior. The Frenchman just scored four goals in five Copa del Rey appearances during Real's successful cup campaign.
Benzema has also assisted more frequently than Kane in domestic cup competitions.
Harry Kane's international record compared to Karim Benzema
Benzema's relationship with the French national team is rather complicated, but he was brought back from the abyss by Didier Deschamps ahead of Euro 2020. However, he missed the 2022 World Cup through injury and retired from international football shortly after.
While the French forward's international record is far from poor, it simply doesn't compare to Kane's. The Three Lions captain became England's record scorer earlier this year when he converted from the spot against Italy, and he could end his international career with an unassailable tally. He's currently scored 55 goals in 82 caps which is a pretty staggering rate of 0.67 goals per game.
Kane has also delivered at major tournaments. The 29-year-old. who lifted the 2018 World Cup Golden Boot, may have missed a crucial penalty against France in Qatar, but he's scored 12 World Cup and Euros goals in 22 appearances. Benzema has seven major tournament goals in 15 appearances.
READ MORE ON KARIM BENZEMA'S EXIT FROM REAL MADRID
This article was originally published on 90min as Harry Kane's stats compared to Karim Benzema.
